Council approves dockless bike ordinance

April 2, 2018

The City Council has approved an ordinance to regulate and permit the use of dockless bikes in University Park. Among other things, the measure designates where bikes can be parked and what happens to bikes that aren’t parked properly.

Because the City wants to gauge the impact and effectiveness of the ordinance, this is a pilot program, and all permits granted will expire in nine months. Any changes or modifications that are thought necessary will be presented to the City Council in January.

What about bikes parked in non-sanctioned locations?

Now that the Council has approved an ordinance, and guidelines are in place, the City will contact all the bike sharing companies that operate in North Texas. We want to make sure they are aware of the City’s permitting process, and our commitment to closely track bike use, their bike repositioning efforts and our removal procedures.

Going forward, it is likely that bikes from non-permitted companies will be left in neighborhoods outside the boundaries shown in blue on the map below. When that occurs, soon after City code enforcement personnel report the location of illegally parked bikes, a towing company under contract with the City will collect them and take them to a storage facility. The towing operator will then bill the bike sharing companies for their services.

Although dockless bikes owned by permitted companies can be ridden anywhere in the city, they must be returned and parked inside the boundaries of one of two locations. The first location includes the SMU campus, blocks near campus, and Snider Plaza. The second location is Preston Center Plaza.

The bike sharing companies are responsible for telling users that hourly fees will continue until the bike they are riding is parked inside the boundaries of one of the two designated locations.

Although bikes will be parked on sidewalks, they can’t inhibit pedestrian movement or ADA accessibility. In addition, bikes can’t block loading zones, curb ramps, or driveways. Also, they can’t be parked against trees, they can’t block intersection sight lines or be parked inside landscaping beds. Permits can be revoked if companies fail to actively relocate their bikes.

All bikes must be parked upright.

If bikes parked inside an allowed location have not moved for seven days, they must be relocated by the bike company. On the eighth day, the City can have the bikes removed and sent to a storage facility. When that occurs, the bike company involved is responsible for all related expenses.

To be permitted, bike companies must provide the City with monthly updates on the number of bikes in their systems, and they must furnish data on bike use and trip destinations.